Portland Fossil Fuel Policy

The Resolution was passed 5-0 on Nov 12th, 2015

The City of Portland is taking the national lead on climate policy and protecting the health and safety of its residents. This groundbreaking policy (Resolution No. 37168) prohibits new large-scale fossil fuel projects in Portland! The City Council heard hours of testimony in favor of the resolution, and passed the resolution on Thursday, November 12th, 2015!

Why is this a big deal? Oregon and the Pacific Northwest are being developed into a fossil fuel corridor by Big Oil, Coal and Gas. If all of these 27 proposed infrastructure projects are completed, they would transport as much carbon annually as 5 Keystone XL pipelines and be game-over for the climate.

In June 2015, Portland passed the 2015 Climate Action Plan, which directs the city to establish a fossil fuel policy. The City’s proposed policy is substantive and will prohibit new projects that transport or store industrial quantities of coal, oil, and gas in Portland in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all Portland residents.

Printable Resources

350PDX Staffer Mia Reback delivered testimony to the Portland City Council on April 27th about the Comprehensive Plan.

“Thank you City Council. My name is Mia Reback and I am here today to speak on behalf of 350PDX, The Center for the Sustainable Economy, and the Climate Action Coalition in support of amendments #P43 and #P56 to add policies to reduce carbon emissions and limit fossil fuel distribution to the comprehensive plan.

The City of Portland is updating its 2035 Comprehensive Plan, a long-range 20-year plan that sets the framework for the physical development of the city. Four years in the making, City Council will adopt the plan on June 15th. Unlike many other plans, Comprehensive Plans are legally binding plans required by Oregon land use law. The 2035 plan provides a host of policies and tools that will be necessary in ensuring a just transition from the fossil fuel economy.

Comp Plan Amendments:

Mayor Hales is proposing amendments to add the fossil fuel policy and climate action into the City’s Comprehensive Plan! Now we just need to show our support to make sure they get added into the final Comp Plan.

In the hour before the city council hearing began on the proposition to ban all new and expanded fossil fuel infrastructure in Portland, roughly 200 people waited inside city hall for the hearing to begin. Some waited to give testimony, and others wanted to get a good seat. The majority wore red in support of the new legislation. There was a warm and friendly feeling in the air, solidified by a few people passing out free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to everyone, made right there on a bench outside the hearing room. As the time neared to go inside the main area, people signed up to speak one by one and eventually filed inside. Read more

Portland, OR, City Council Will Vote On Resolution Opposing New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

Portland, OR: The Portland City Council is set to vote on a resolution opposing new fossil fuel infrastructure on November 12th at 2pm (Resolution 1157). The resolution will be the strongest local fossil fuel infrastructure ban in the country. The hearing is scheduled to last for three hours, and the City Council will hear testimony on proposed amendments from Commissioners Nick Fish and Steve Novick before the City Council votes on the resolution. The hearing can be watched via livestream here: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/video/player/?tab=live

Community leaders will be available for interviews before and after the hearing.

What: Portland City Council Hearing and Vote on the Fossil Fuel Resolution
When: Thursday November 12th, 2-5 PMWhere: Portland City Hall

The Fossil Fuel Resolution follows the passage of a resolution to oppose new oil train traffic in Portland. The resolution also allows the City of Portland to go on record opposing the proposed TesoroSavage Oil Terminal in nearby Vancouver, WA, which would be the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal.

Community Groups including members of the Climate Action Coalition and 350PDX plan to fill City Hall on Thursday with creative visuals to show support for this landmark resolution. The Fossil Fuel Resolution is being supported by community and environmental groups including 350PDX, Portland Audubon Society, Center for Sustainable Economy, member groups of the Climate Action Coalition, and Columbia Riverkeeper; and by the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde, and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

###

https://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.png00miahttps://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.pngmia2015-11-11 15:43:252016-08-12 14:52:15Portland, OR, City Council Will Vote On Resolution Opposing New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure

This week, the Portland City Council will take up what seems at first glance a visionary piece of legislation, one ending the construction of new infrastructure for transporting and storing fossil fuels. If passed, it would certainly stand as a landmark — but it’s a cairn on an increasingly inevitable trail.

For one thing, the math of climate change makes it abundantly clear that we simply have to stop any expansion of fossil fuels and instead reduce their use with all possible speed. So far, 2015 is the hottest year we’ve ever measured.

As I write this, the lead story in The New York Times is headlined “Greenland Is Melting Away.” In the past 10 days we’ve seen the highest hurricane winds ever measured, and the lowest barometric pressure. The West Coast is gripped in a seemingly endless drought — and hoping that its end will come with an El Niño capable of unleashing epic floods.

https://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.png00Dragonhttps://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.pngDragon2015-11-03 16:55:072016-08-12 14:47:12Say No to More Fossil Fuels

https://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.png00Dragonhttps://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.pngDragon2015-11-13 15:40:062016-06-23 14:35:04This Northwest City Just Passed The Strongest Resolution Against Fossil Fuels In The Country

https://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.png00Dragonhttps://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.pngDragon2015-11-03 12:13:212016-06-23 14:35:12Say no to more fossil fuels

https://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.png00Dragonhttps://350pdx.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/350PDX-head-logo-bcm-wide-300x68.pngDragon2015-10-28 13:29:292016-06-23 14:35:26Portland is Poised to Enact the Strongest Fossil Fuel Legislation in the US